CHRISTOLOGY 2.pptx (CHRISTOLOGY Jesus as the Messiah and the Savior)

Jesus the Messiah and the Savior

1. CHRISTOLOGY

2. IMAGES WE HAVE OF JESUS For two thousand years, in Western Culture and history has been accorded such exalted titles as JESUS. Few years after his death, unusual

3. things were told about his person and life: he was born of a virgin; he was a miracle worker; he rose from the dead; he appeared to his followers to

4. encourage and comfort them; he disappeared in to the skies. Towards the end of the first century, he was given grand titles like Son of God,

5. Messiah, Savior, the word becoming flesh, bread of life, light of the world, and others. For the next seventeen centuries, he

6. dominated the culture of the West. Western religion, art, architecture, music, ethical norms, politics and even economics are, to a great extent ,

7. influenced by this figure. For Christians, the reason for the interest goes beyond purely intellectual curiosity. More than just a

8. historical person, Jesus is the central figure of Christianity. Jesus is “Lord and Savior”. In the Filipino situation, Jesus is “ Panginoong Hesukristo ”, “Anak ng

9. Diyos ”, and “ Poong Tagapagligtas ”. That “Jesus” is a familiar name in many parts of the world and that many Christians see him as important for

10. human life is a fact. That he has become somebody to be worshipped in the Christian world cannot be denied. Yet, who he was as a historical person is usually not understood.

11. A. JESUS AS UNDERSTOOD IN POPULAR CHRISTIANITY Jesus is popularly seen as divine Savior. He is thought of as God’s Son whose mission is to die for the sins of the world. His main message is about who

12. he is and the importance of believing in him. The divine Savior image is everywhere in the Christian world. It is also

13. Dominant in Filipino religious thinking and practice. When we look at the Filipino Christian experience, we see five popular portraits of Jesus that,

14. when taken together, present Jesus as mainly a divine Savior. The Catechism for Filipino Catholics gives us a sketch of these popular images.

15. Dominant view of Jesus among many Filipino C hristians 1. Jesus as the Son of God and Son of Mary Filipinos are family-oriented. The anak-magulang relationship is very important.

16. The terms Ama, ina , and anak are significant to us because we value so much our attachment to members of our family. The family becomes the main

17. source of our happiness. Our filial attachment does not apply only to our immediate family, but also to our extended family. This family-centered

18. attitude gives us a sense of belonging , stability and security. It is because we are family-oriented that we like to picture Jesus as Anak

19. both the Son of God and the Son of Mary. Devotion to the Sto.Nino is widespread among Filipino Catholics. We find pictures or images of the

20. Santo Nino everywhere. This is a testimony to the Filipino Christians attraction to Jesus as Son of God and Son of Mary.

21. 2. Jesus as Host Filipinos are meal-oriented. Filipinos consider almost everyone as part of their family, for we are known for being

22. gracious hosts and grateful guests. Serving our guest with the best we have is an inborn value to us, whether we are rich or poor.

23. Jesus as host is not only presiding at the Last Supper and our Eucharistic celebrations, he is not only the bread and drink of life, but even the guest of

24. every gathering. The New Testament refers more than 25 times to eating. Eating together in table fellowship with the presence of the risen Christ

25. (Cor 10:17), communion in other words constitutes the core witness of the early Church as eucharistic community. One of the familiar images

26. In a Filipino home, the Last Supper, witnesses to Filipino attraction to the images of Jesus as host.

27. 3. Jesus as Suffering Servant suffering servant Filipinos are kundiman-oriented. The kundiman is a Filipino song about love, especially wounded love. Filipinos are naturally attracted to heroes sacrificing

28. everything for love. We are patient and forgiving even if we are hurting badly inside. This acceptance of suffering shows a deep , positive, value of the

29. Filipinos’s kalooban . Jesus, the Suffering Servant, is portrayed through our favorite images of Padre Hesus Nazareno , the Crucified Christ, the

30. Santo Intierro , or the Sacred Heart. Through these images, Jesus appears as on of the “little ones”; the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick , the lonely,

31. Stranger and the prisoner (Mt.25:31-46)Jesus, the Suffering Servant, can reach out to us as a healing and forgiving Savior who understands our

32. Weaknesses, our failures, our feelings of depression, fear and loneliness. 4. Jesus as Christ the King Filipinos are optimistic. For all our

33. Patience and tolerance, we will not accept ultimate failure and defeat. We will always look forward to another chance, a better tomorrow .

34. The Filipino optimism in the midst of difficulties make the image of Christ as a conquering King dear to us. We see Jesus as the one who was sent to do

35. the Father’s will. His death was not a defeat but the beginning of God’s justice and peace in society. Jesus is now enthroned as king because of his

36. ultimate victory over evil. Our admiration for a victorious hero is seen in a thriving devotion to Christ, our mighty king .

37. 5. Jesus , The Miracle W orker Filipinos are spirit-oriented. We have a deep-seated belief in the supernatural and in all kinds of spirits dwelling in individual persons, places, and things.

38. Filipinos continue to invoke the spirits in various undertakings, especially in faith-healings and exorcisms. Jesus the miracle worker, promised

39. to send his spirit to his disciples to give them his new life. We see Jesus’ spirit as drawing us into a community where superstition and enslaving magic

40. are overcome by authentic worship to God. We believe that this spirit is given to each of us and works in and through us for the common good.

41. The five popular images correspond to the five dominants traits Filipinos consider meaningful, namely: being family-oriented, love for celebration and hospitality

42. willingness to sacrifice for others, optimism, and being in touch with the spirits. It appears that these traits are projected and transferred to the person of Jesus who

43. becomes the Santo Nino, the Host, the Bayani, the Cristo Rey and the Miracle worker. These five images, have something positive to contribute to the Filipino

44. search for meaning, for salvation. They contain elements that can promote justice, peace, and solidarity in Filipino society. Care for family, a welcoming attitude

45. towards others, optimism amidst difficulties, and undying hope in God’s graciousness are virtues that we can associate with these popular images.

46. THE HISTORICAL CRITICAL IMAGE This is the portrait of Jesus reconstructed by biblical scholars. Using the gospels as their main sources, these scholars worked hard to come up with a picture of Jesus that

47. is closer to history. The quest was largely the product of the developing culture of the Enlightenment where everything including

48. Church teachings and beliefs, was questioned. The search came up with various images. One scholar, presented Jesus as a great

49. teacher of right living. However, something went wrong. He was attracted by his fellow Jews into the dream of freeing Israel from foreign domination and corrupt

50. governance and he was killed for this. His followers were disappointed but did not give up their dream for independence. To keep this dream going and to avoid

51. Embarrassment, the followers stole Jesus’ body, invented the story of resurrection, and set up the Church. Another argued that if we

52. remove the myth and disregard the miraculous elements in the gospels we discover a Jesus who is a great philosopher. He described Jesus as a thinker who taught ways of chaning

53. the corrupt and social and political order. At the beginning of the 20 th century, Albert Schweitzer, a theologian and doctor, set out

54. to reconstruct his own picture of Jesus based on a careful study of the Jewish society in Jesus’ time. He said that the Jews at that time were expecting the of the present

55. corrupt world and the beginning of God’s reign of justice. Jesus was completely influenced by this expectation and he believed that he had a role to play in the coming of

56. G od’s kingdom. But the end did not come as Jesus expected. Though Schweitzer’s description created a sensation and still strikes many as unacceptable

57. when they first hear it, this image of Jesus as prophet of the end time slowly influenced much of the 20 th century biblical research.

58. DISCERN A. THE CONTEMPORARY SEARCH FOR SALVATION The search for well being is not an individual concern. We become fully human only in so

59. far as we relate with others. We are rational beings. Our life, our well being, is so closely linked with those of the others. We cannot help but build relationship with our

60. surroundings, even with our very own self. There are six aspects of this relationship building that we have to focus on if we are to experience genuine well being or

61. fuller humanity. These six aspects are interconnected dimensions or value centers called the anthropological constants. We have to build meaningful relationships with

62. our body , with nature, and cosmos, with other persons; with the community , society, institutions, and structures; with culture and history; with our thoughts and actions with

63. the Ultimate. Christians, believe that the experience of the disciples with Jesus can lead us on the way towards salvation .

64. B.THE WAY OF THE DISCIPLES The way of the disciples was the gradual process by which the early followers came to identify Jesus, based on an experience of salvation. The way of the disciples invites

65. us to follow three steps: The Disciples Meet Jesus of Nazareth Christianity started with this search for well being. The

66. disciples met a young man from Nazareth who, after being a disciple of John the Baptist, had begun to teach and heal. They were fascinated by this person who had a lot of common ssense ,

67. related warmly with people, mingled freely with the poor and the outcast, and spoke openly against the injustices of his time. Being with him was an inspiring experience for the

68. Disciples who, had been victims themselves of the discrimination and oppression in the Jewish society. They felt this man gave them back their dignity, their confidence

69. In life. In Jesus of Nazareth, the disciples experienced a very free man, caring for the concrete needs of the oppressed poor people because God, his father loved them.

70. This initial experience is very important. Future generations of Christians will come in contact with Jesus by recalling the experience of the disciples, which they will

71. then have to relate to their own search for meaning and salvation in a changed situation.

72. 2. Jesus is Interpreted Jesus was crucified but in faith the disciples were convinced that he was alive; he has risen. The conviction that Jesus continued to live and inspire the community

73. added a new meaning to the disciples initial understanding of Jesus. They believed that Jesus’ spirit was challenging them to give a new answer to people search for happiness.

74. Jesus was the one bringing happiness and well being(salvation). History of early Christianity reveals three stages in the

75. development of the interpretation of Jesus and his ministry. Jesus was interpreted within the Jewish culture, and then gradually within the Graeco-Roman world. Later, Christians met with the cultures of the

76. Invading Germanic tribes. Christianity needed to be interpreted again with these new cultures. This resulted in what we call today Western Christianity.

77. For the first disciples who were all Jews. Jesus was a prophet of Yahweh, the merciful and faithful one, reaching out to his people who were suffering because of

78. poverty and oppression. Through Jesus, Yahweh was offering healing and forgiveness and well being. Using the titles which were found in their Jewish culture, Christians

79. described Jesus as the Son of God, the son of Man, Lord , Christ, Emmanuel, Servant-Messiah, Shepherd, bread of life. Christianity did not confine itself very long in the

80. Jewish homeland. An initial effort was made by Jewish Christian missionaries to reach out to the non-Jews around. Paul whom many call “the apostle to the gentiles”.

81. Together with companions, Paul brought Christianity to the gentile lands. Christianity was more the product of the Jewish life and culture, the early missionaries had to

82. make adjustments in the Christian message so that the non-Jewish communities could understand it better. During the next generations,

83. Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire. In the Graeco-Roman world, Jesus had to be interpreted anew. Christianity came face to face with the Greek

84. Philosophy with a different idea of salvation. For the person educated in neo-platonic philosophy, salvation meant participation in the divine or divination. Christians

85. began to stress the divinity of Jesus. Since Jesus is divine, he can give us salvation or divinity. One cannot give what one does not have.

86. Church councils were convened to make sure people understood properly the teachings about Jesus, and to stop heretical teachings that started to divide the Church.

87. The Great Councils made use of the language of Greek philosophy to express clearly, the questioned teachings regarding Jesus and Christian faith. The Councils came up

88. with statements like “Jesus is consubstantial with the Father”, “Jesus is begotten not made”, “Jesus is consubstantial with us”.

89. The Graeco-Roman understanding of Jesus expressed in the language of the Councils later became the dominant view in Western Christianity. This view was not

90. understood immediately by the common people. This failure of understanding led to the development of the divine Savior image of popular Christianity.

91. 3. RE-APPROPRIATING JESUS IN THE FILIPINO SITUATION. The experience of the disciples with Jesus had been interpreted and re-interpreted within different cultures in the past . There had been a need for this

92. constant re-interpretation because times and situation changed and so the message of Christianity had to be expressed in more understandable ways. To make

93. the Christian message relevant for our times, we may have to continue this process of re-interpretation within the Filipino culture.

94. C. LENSES FOR RECONSTRUCTING THE JESUS OF HISTORY 1. The Gospels as Developing Traditions Our sources are the New Testament as a whole and the four gospels in particular.

95. Many see these sources as historical narratives reporting exactly what Jesus said and did. They are viewed as video recordings of the Jesus’ event. This kind of reading

96. Delivers a problematic image of Jesus; a sort of all-knowing super-hero and magician. Jesus became the founder of the Church, institutes

97. S acraments , formulates the latest Christian doctrines. Like all other books in the Bible, the four gospels have a long history behind them. The various stories we now find in

98. Gospels had been developing and growing as the situation of the early Christian communities and their surroundings changed.

99. Much of the materials in the gospels did not remain as they originally were for some reasons. The stories and ideas about Jesus grew because of the new experiences the

100. believers had of Jesus as risen. This experience transformed and enriched how the community understood who Jesus was and the meaning of his words and deeds.

101. As developing traditions, the gospels contain two kinds of materials: 1. History remembered- that some of the things reported in

102. the gospels really took place. 2. History interpreted – that the writer of the gospels and the early Christians used symbolic language and stories

103. to express the meaning for them of what happened to Jesus.(The use of stories and metaphors was common among the Jews of Jesus’ time).

104. Metaphorical language is non –literal. Metaphor is not literally true; it can powerfully true in a non-literal sense. To say that Jesus is the bread of life (Jn 6:35)

105. does not mean that he is literally bread, but means that we see him as bread nourishing us in some sense other than in biological.

106. Materials in the gospels may be metaphorical in the sense that they are based on something that really happened but are interpreted in a symbolic way.

107. 2. THE STUDY OF JUDAISM As a Jew, Jesus shared much of the way of thinking and behavior of his people. He was affected by the issues and problems of his society and responded to these issues and

108. problems as a typical Jew of his time would. But although he thought and behaved like most of his Jewish contemporaries, he differed from many of them in some

109. significant way. The following data about Jesus, the Jew: Name Place of birth

110. Civil Status Occupation Religion Age at time of death

111. 3. THE STUDY OF SOCIAL WORLD OF JESUS The study of Jesus and Christianity has made great progress because of contributions coming from the human and social sciences.

112. The result of the cooperation between theology and the social and human sciences is a deeper understanding of the significance of Jesus and Christianity to what is

113. happening in our society today. The human and social sciences can help reveal the kind of social world Jesus lived in within which he had to think

114. and act. “Social world” refer to the total social environment of a people at a particular time in their history, which includes the material conditions.

115. Material conditions means as the type of economy, the level of technology, the degree of urbanization, the kind of government. Social world also

116. includes the non-material element of shared convictions , thought forms, and behavior patterns.. These make up what is commonly called culture.

117. 4. THE CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF RELIGION AND OUR WORLDVIEW One of the important claims that we will make about Jesus is that he was a “spirit person”. It mean that he was constantly in touch with the “world spirit”.

118. The “world spirit” is another level of reality in addition to the visible world of our ordinary experience. To the visible material world, there is another level of reality

119. spoken in several ways – as the sacred and the profane, the holy and the mundane, God and the world, heaven and earth. The material world is permeated by the “world of

120. spirit.” This idea of two intersecting world is found at the heart of the Jewish tradition within which Jesus lived.

121. The notion of the “world spirit” and “spirit person” are not foreign to the Filipino culture. Like in many cultures, the “spirit world” and the material world are

122. interconnected in the Filipino understanding. The “spirit world” exerts influence upon the destiny of the world of our experience. By reason of this, it becomes necessary to make

123. make some contact with the “spirit world”. Spirit persons function as mediators between these two worlds. Our world view is important

124. because it dictates what we will accept and reject. It tells us what to consider as real or imaginary. It determines our choices of what is right or wrong, good or bad.

125. Chapter Two: JESUS OF NAZARETH A. JESUS IN VISUAL ARTS Artworks are effective toos of communication. They express a message in a way that mere words cannot.

126. Jesus had been one of the favorite subjects of artworks in the Christian world. Through the centuries, the visual arts that had been in charge of expressing how

127. Jesus looked like were painting and sculpture. Portrayal of Jesus in artworks is not serious all the time. We may have seen already the

128. picture of the Santo Nino clothed as a fisherman, a soldier or even dressed as a commercial model. Paintings and sculptures presenting Jesus as a European, American.

129. B. THE JESUS IN MUSIC Music had been of great help in preserving and communicating some “key emotions” associated with Jesus and his

130. story. Undying love, faithfulness till death, humility, sacrifice, and hope are common themes found in Christian hymns and songs.

131. Music plays a special role in Christian worship and liturgy. Some would even see worship as primarily singing and dancing. Like paintings and sculptures, our songs package

132. Jesus in various ways. It is through many of our songs that much of what we think of Jesus is expressed and shared with others.

133. A. THE JEWISH SOCIETY DURING JESUS’ TIME 1. Small Country Palestine during the time of Jesus was a narrow strip of land by the Mediterranean Sea. It covered a relatively small area. At present,

134. the former land of Palestine is now shared by the states of Israel and Jordan. 2. A Farming Community Palestine was largely an

135. Agricultural and rural society composed of towns and small villages inhabited generally by farmers who walked each day to their fields. Farming centered on grain, vegetables,

136. fruits, wine, oil, dates, as well as sheep, goats and cattle. There were a number of cities, many of them established by Herod the Great and his

137. successors. In these cities, commerce was developing. This brought profound changes in the Jewish society. The rural areas tended to be Jewish, in contrast with the urban

138. (except perhaps Jerusalem), which had a mixture of population because of gentiles coming from neighboring areas.

139. 3. Part of the Roman Empire Palestine became part of the Roman Empire in 63 BCE and was governed by rulers appointed by Rome. Until the

140. death of Herod the Great, the most famous of the kings who owed their kingship to Rome , it was administered as a single territory. After Herod’s death, it was divided into three parts,

141. each ruled by one of Herod’s sons. Judea(which included Jerusalem) later came under direct Roman rule governed by a series of Roman governors.

142. The period of direct Roman rule was characterized by widespread discontent and periodic uprising. People suffered under the heavy Roman taxation that was

143. made even heavier by tax farming. Villages that refused to pay their taxes were destroyed. Many had to give up their properties as payment or they were made slaves.

144. People protested but were repressed. Some took up arms but were immediately slaughtered. This situation led to more protests and finally rebellion.

145. The primary conflict in the Jewish society was not between the Roman and the Jews. It was between the Romans with many of the Jewish upper class on the

146. one hand, and the Jewish common people(peasantry) on the other. The Jewish ruling group came from the priestly and lay aristocracy of Jerusalem, although they had

147. supporters in the villages. These people make up the party of the Sadducees. They acted as dummies or collaborators of the Romans.

148. Because of this, they maintained partial control over the Jewish population.

149. 4. Protest and Renewal Movements The abuses of the Romans and the Jewish elite gave rise to protest and renewal movements

150. was social banditry. People who were driven out of their land for failure to pay taxes joined brigand who roamed the country side, robbing people

151. and attacking collaborators of the Romans. Other movements that resulted from the worsening economic condition of the masses were the popular messianic movements.

152. These groups were inspired by the teachings of the prophets who condemned any form of domination and oppression as contradicting the kingship of Yahweh.

153. It was not only the common people who reacted very strongly to the corrupt system of the time. Some literate groups like the PHARISEES (“to be separated”; a party

154. consisting of some priests, scribes and landed gentry, mostly the teachers and leaders of the people in the country side) wanted renewal.

155. Although the gospels mostly portray them as strict interpreters of the law, they represented in reality a novel and somewhat revolutionary lay movement within Judaism.

156. They believed that they had to preserve the identity of Israel as God’s people. The task of preserving Israel’s identity would be accomplished through a

157. faithful following of the commandments of God contained in the Torah. Unlike the Pharisees, the ESSENES left the Jewish society

158. because they could no longer stand the corruption and injustice. They withdrew into the wilderness in order not to be corrupted and remain as the true people of God.

159. They formed several communities, in which they lived a disciplined life, holding all things in common. They called themselves “men of holiness” and required

160. separation from the “unholy society”. They claimed to be the “the children of light” and branded the Romans and other Jews as “children of darkness”.

161. Once in a while there were violent attacks that were waged against the Romans and their collaborators by various groups in the Jewish society. Some commentators

162. put these groups under one name: ZEALOTS (movement of zealous Jews who took the revolutionary option of resisting the Roman rule. The zealots formed a distinct group at the

163. time of the great revolt against Rome in 67-68 CE). 5. Common Inspiration One thing in common: the expectation that God will soon

164. Intervene to free Israel from oppression and foreign domination. The groups interpreted this expectation with some differences in emphasis. Some messianic

165. movements and zealots believed that God would help his people through armed revolution. The ESSENES left society in order to maintain their being God’s chosen people

166. until God’s intervention. The PHARISEES decided not to run away but stay and renew society by insisting on obedience to the commandments.

167. This common inspiration tells something about the Jewish society. Making a distinction between political, economic, and social problems on the one hand, and religious on the

168. Other . In the Jewish society, such a distinction did not exist. The Jews believed that God involved himself in all aspects of the life of society, whether political, social,

169. economic, or religious. Everything was political and religious at the same time. The Roman taxation, was not only a political problem. It was also a

170. Religious offense. One did not pay taxes to the emperor because the true ruler of Israel was Yahweh. The Jewish society was a THEOCRATIC(“God-rule”, a

171. view of government that acknowledges God as the supreme ruler. Kings or priests only rule as representatives of God) society – God was its king.

172. Today, we still have a few theocratic societies that give us an idea of the religious atmosphere of the Jewish society in Jesus’ time.

173. B. THE WOODWORKER, JESUS OF NAZARETH We do not have historically certain stories about Jesus before about age thirty. He was probably born near the end of Herod the Great’s reign(around 4 BCE). He grew

174. up in Nazareth in Galilee, about 150 kilometers north of Jerusalem. Several places in Galilee were thriving business centers. Trade with other parts of Mediterranean world was

175. extensive. Foreign traders brought with them their goods and cultures. The environment of Jesus was therefore not as rural as we usually think. Jesus was not a typical probinsiano .

176. Jesus probably went to school in synagogue of Nazareth where he learned to read and write, with the Torah as the main text. He probably became a woodworker ( tekton

177. in Greek). For the most part, buildings in Palestine were not made of wood. Hence a tekton did not necessarily build houses but rather made wood products: doors, roof beams

178. even yokes and plows. Economic standing divided the Jewish community during the time of Jesus into the “haves” and the “have nots”.

179. The “haves” made up a very small percent of the population. The vast majority constituted the “have nots”. This group is usually called the common people or the

180. peasantry. A great divide separated these two groups- a divide not unlike the chasm that existed between Lazarus and the rich man.

181. We do not know exactly the place Jesus and his family occupied in the socio-economic ladder. Scholars tell us that they belonged to the second group. But this does

182. not imply that Jesus and his family were living like slaves. The gospels hint at a family trade that Jesus learned to take care of – woodworks. The trade could have been a steady

183. source of income. Since Nazareth was basically an agricultural community, it is most probable that Jesus family may have cultivated a piece of land to augment the family

184. income. Bible scholars assume that Jesus’ family could have been a devout. He would learned the stories, hymns, and prayers of the Jewish tradition. He would have observed and

185. celebrated the great Jewish holidays. He no doubt observed the sabbath for Torah study and prayer. Jesus must have become a

186. serious religious seeker. This may explain one of the most certain facts we know about him; in his late twenties, he left Nazareth and became a

187. Follower of a wilderness prophet named John.

188. C. JESUS AS SPIRIT PERSON Jesus as a spirit person, Jesus as a man of faith. Jesus having an exceptionally intimate relationship with God. Spirit persons are people have

189. vivid and frequent experiences of another level of reality. Sometimes the person has visions. Sometimes he/she is experiences journeying to this other reality.

190. Spirit persons are also communicators of the Spirit or God or the Sacred. They do this in varied ways. Sometimes they speak the

191. word or the will of God. Sometimes they heal and exorcise. Sometimes they tell people where to find missing objects or persons.

192. Finally, the spirit persons do not consider the Spirit(God, the Sacred) as “out there”, separate from our world. Rather, it is all around us, and we are in it.

193. The central figures in Biblical tradition are spirit persons. Abraham and Jacob had a series of visions and experiences of God. Moses had intimate experience of

194. the sacred.(Deut.34:10). The prophets of Israel had a similar intimate experiences of the sacred. Jesus too, was a spirit person.

195. According to the Gospels, he had visions including one at his baptism in which, like Ezekiel, he “saw heaven opened before him and he saw the Spirit coming down on him

196. like a dove”.(M.1:10). Jesus also used spiritual practices like fasting, and long hours of prayer (meditation) typical of spirit persons. His intimate communion with God is

197. indicated by his use of the word ABBA. He called God Abba, a term signifying closeness and familiarity. It is equivalent to the word tatay .

198. The gospels describe Jesus as “speaking with authority.” While the other teachers began by saying “Thus says the Lord…” to back up their teachings. Jesus started with

199. the words “I tell you…” This authority in his teaching can only come from his experience of God. Jesus’ experience of the Spirit is

200. dramatically expressed in Luke’s text of Jesus’ speech in the synagogue at the start of his ministry. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”(Lk 4:18). Jesus’ life shows a deep

201. relationship with the Spirit.

202. D. JESUS’ MINISTRY: FOUR BROAD STROKES The main aspects of his ministry under the four broad strokes. These four areas of his ministry place him firmly within the Jewish religious culture and situation.

203. Jesus continued the tasks that other Jewish spirit persons before him had taken up in order to remind Israel of the presence of Yahweh in their history.

204. 1. JESUS AS HEALER AND EXORCIST Jesus both healed and exorcised. Not all spirit persons become healers and exorcists, but some do and Jesus was among them. His contemporaries and he himself

205. viewed these abilities as the result of the Spirit’s power working through him. (Lk 7:1-10; 22-23, Lk 11:14-23) The gospels refer to healings

206. and exorcisms in summary form as frequent and typical occurrences(Mk.1:32-39). They also contain many individual stories of exorcisms and healings.

207. What role did Jesus’ healing and exorcisms play in his public activity? Jesus discovered he had the ability to heal and exorcise.

208. He used this ability to help people because he was a compassionate and forgiving. Two other reasons why Jesus healed people:

209. 1. Jesus associated healing and miracles with the coming of the Kingdom of God and a time of deliverance. Jesus saw them as the result of the Spirit’s power inaugurating

210. the Kingdom of God. 2. Healing also pointed to a direct relationship to God, apart from experiencing God through the rules and rituals

211. prescribed by religion. Jesus’ healing activity flowed out of and affirmed the immediacy of access to God. The Priests and Scribes felt

212. threatened by this direct manifestation of God’s spirit and ascribed the healing to the power of Satan, an accusation that Jesus repeatedly refuted.(Mk.3:20-30)

213. 2. Jesus as a Teacher of Transformative Wisdom Jesus was regularly addressed as teacher during his lifetime by followers, opponents and curious inquiries. Some thoughts that he was primarily a teacher of right belief

214. needed for salvation. Others emphasize that he was a teacher of right morals. But he was not primarily a teacher of either of true belief or good behavior. Rather, he was a

215. Teacher of a way of transformation. He did not stress believing or being good as the primary thing. Instead, he invited people to a new way of life.

216. As a teacher, Jesus attracted a good following. This is implicit in the gospels. Perhaps one of the reasons for this was the way he communicated his ideas.

217. Jesus must have been a very interesting speaker. People listened to him and followed him. The teaching of Jeus usually did not take the form of elaborating the teaching of

218. Torah as was commonly done by the teachers of his time. He most often appealed to ordinary human experience and observations from nature. He used the usual form of

219. earlier wisdom traditions like proverbs and parables. Proverbs are short but insightful sayings. “No one can serve two masters”; “a city built on a hill cannot be hidden”; and “Many

220. are called but few are chosen” are proverbs. A parable is a short imaginative story designed to communicate one central idea that usually reverses a prevailing notion.

221. Jesus often used stories and analogies from nature, “consider the lilies of the fields; they neither toil nor spin…”; “A good tree bears good fruit; “even the hairs of

222. your head are counted”. Common to all these forms of traditional wisdom as used by Jesus was an invitation to see differently, to have a transformed

223. Perception of the things and events in one’s own life and in society in general. Jesus attacked the conventional wisdom of his society. The

224. Jewish society had five central values: family, wealth, honor, purity, and religion. Jesus speaks against treating these values as everything in human life.

225. In the Jewish society, the family(which patriarchal)was the person’s source of identity and security. For the Jew, a “good” family was on of the blessings of God.

226. Jesus’ contemporaries saw wealth as a reward from God for having lived wisely. What then is the alternative wisdom or path that Jesus taught?

227. First of all, an invitation to see God as gracious and compassionate rather than a lawmaker who demand strict compliance with his order.

228. Secondly, it is an invitation to a life that is more and more centered in God. The Jesus path is the way of transformation. The Jesus path is the way of transformation.

229. Two imageries that explain what is involved in transformation: 1. the imagery of the heart- represented the true self of

230. Self of the person. The heart that can only be open to change if it is centered in the compassionate God. 2. the imagery of death -

231. Called to die to family, wealth, honor, purity, and religion, and even to self as the center of one’s concern.

232. 3. Jesus as an Initiator of a Renewal Movement The movement initiated by Jesus was intended for Israel. Like other Jewish movements, it saw itself as a way for Israel, a way out of the crisis

233. facing the Jewish society. Jesus ministry points to the concern with Israel; the choice of the twelve. “Twelve” is the number of the twelve tribes of Israel.

234. Jesus saw the twelve as representing the “new” or “true” Israel. Jesus saw primarily concerned about renewing his own deteriorating society.

235. The movement was marked by joy. The gospel reflect the joy of the disciples in the presence of Jesus. If the movement was joyful, it was because the initiator was a

236. joyful person. He had the capacity to enjoy the simple pleasure of life. The core spirit of the movement was compassion.

237. An important quality of God in Scripture. Jesus stressed the compassion of God. The father of the prodigal son “had compassion”, the Samaritan was the one who “showed

238. compassion”, the unmerciful servant did not act with compassion, the tax collector in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector begged for God’s compassion.

239. Jesus saw compassion as the true solution to the growing internal division within the Jewish society and the worsening conflict with the Romans.

240. The most remarkable feature of the Jesus’ movement was its implicit universalism. As a Jew, Jesus stepped a number of times beyond the boundaries of Judaism to

241. that God offered the Kingdom to all people. Jesus did not only include the hated tax collectors as recipient of God’s offer of the Kingdom.

242. 4. JESUS AS A PROPHET The classical prophets are those who have books named after them. There are 15 classical prophets. The prophets of Israel were seen primarily as God’s messenger.

243. The name of the last of them, Malachi, literally means “my messenger”. The prophets of Israel arose during periods of crisis when Israel was facing destruction from foreign powers.

244. Three-fold pattern that usually marked the message of the prophets: 1. Accusation – The prophets accused the leaders of directing

245. Israel in the wrong way. The leadership seemed to be only concerned with wealth, power, and religious purity instead of focusing on the needs of the suffering poor.

246. Israel had become a “prostitute”, leaving God, her husband, and entrusting herself to alliances with foreign rulers.

247. 2. Threat – The prophets warned their society of judgment by God that can take the form of military conquest and destruction. Amos and Hosea, for example

248. warned the leaders of the northern kingdom of an impending destruction by Assyria as God’s judgment upon them unless they changed. Jeremiah and Ezekiel. a

249. hundred years after, announced a similar threat to the southern kingdom. 3. Call to Change – The prophets called Israel to repent

250. which meant to turn or return, and which referred primarily to a change in society as a whole, not just individual change. The threat is made for the purpose of transforming society so that

251. the future would be different. Jesus condemned the system of his society that favored the wealthy, the powerful, those who were obedient to the

252. Commandments . This system rejected the poor, the powerless, and those unable to keep the law. Jesus used images to voice his accusation. Israel was like the

253. Caretakers of the vineyard who refused to do their duty by giving the owner his share of the produce. Israel was like the unfruitful fig tree that is given one last chance to bear

254. fruit. Israel with its flourishing religious culture sought to be holy like God but unable to show compassion. The parable of the Good Samaritan shows Israel’s love for the law but

255. disregard for compassion (Lk 10:29-37).